Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that nearly one year after Hamas’ attacks on Israel, his country is now fighting on seven fronts.
“Today, Israel is defending itself on seven fronts against the enemies of civilization,” he said in a video statement Saturday. He said those include Iranian-backed Hezbollah in the north, Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen, “terrorists” in the West Bank and the Shiite militias in Iraq and Syria.
He said he is maintaining his promise to change the balance of power in the north between Israel and Lebanon. Israel has launched nearly 9,000 attacks into Lebanon since October 8 and Hezbollah launched 1,500 attacks in that same time frame, according to the ACLED data.
Referring to Gaza, Netanyahu said that Israel has a right defend itself and that it will not forget the 101 hostages “whom we are committed to with all our might to bring them home.” At least 41,825 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7 last year, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Netanyahu said “shame on” French President Emmanuel Macron and other countries who call for arms embargoes against Israel. “Rest assured, Israel will fight until the battle is won – for our sake and for the sake of peace and security in the world,” Netanyahu added.
More than 1,400 people have been killed in Israeli strikes in Lebanon in the last month, and nearly 7,500 injured, according to the Lebanese health ministry.